With Six PA Trails and Two Boardwalks Wildwood Park is Sure to Please

A trip to the PA trails in Wildwood Park is a must for any nature lover. I stumbled upon this beauty right outside of Harrisburg City. This is a great place for bird lover's to capture wonderful shots of bird wildlife. There are Egrets, Wood ducks, Mallards, Canada Geese, Herons, all kinds of songbirds and many more. There is also all kinds of other wildlife, like white-tailed deer, toads, snakes, frogs, muskrats, and turtles. It truly is a haven for the wildlife in the area. I just happened to love birds a lot so that is why I mentioned them first.

Morning Glory at the Wildwood park Lake

There is a spillover named Morning glory. It is named after the flower. Here is what the plaque says about it: The Wildwood Lake Morning Glory Spillway was constructed by the city of Harrisburg's Board of Public Works in 1908. This circular overflow channel is named for its resemblance to the grooved funnel shape flower of the morning glory vine. The spillway functions to control the water-flow of Paxton Creek as it runs southward from Wildwood Lake through the City of Harrisburg. The maximum discharge rate for the spillway is approximately 300 cubic feet of water per second, which is equivalent to the size of a small school bus or 2,244 gallons. The unique spillway design provides for adjustable board heights which are used to raise or lower the water elevation of Wildwood Lake. As the water level rises, storm water flows are directed to the second spillway located at the north end of Wildwood Lake. The second spillway discharges water directly into the Susquehanna River, thus reducing peak flows of Paxton Creek and providing flood protection for the City of Harrisburg.

With six different trails and two boardwalks there is a lot to explore. The longest PA trail in the Wildwood park is the Wildwood Way Trail it is paved macadam and is 2.1 miles. The shortest trail is grass and it is the Meadow Trail which is .2 miles.

There is a nature center that provides learning opportunities for people of all ages. Bird enthusiasts like myself can watch the birds from the special glass enclosed bird blind that overlooks the lake and offers a bunch of bird feeders that attracts a variety of different types of birds. Make sure you check their events out. They have lots of events going on all the time.
Just another way to stay busy on the PA trails. Happy hiking in Pennsylvania Dutch Country!